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Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.

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South Korea

Seoul taps overseas students for grassroots global PR campaign

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is shifting its global public relations (PR) strategy away from expatriates and toward digital natives abroad, launching its inaugural Seoul Global Culture Crew initiative to turn overseas college students into cultural ambassadors. The city held an online kickoff ceremony Wednesday for 13 selected undergraduates from SOAS University of London and Hungary's Eötvös Loránd University, all of whom are majoring in Korean studies. Unlike traditional municipal supporter programs that recruit foreign residents living in Korea, this pilot project taps students to generate localized, peer-to-peer buzz in their home countries. The student correspondents will operate through October, producing monthly social media campaigns across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. By leveraging local perspectives, the city aims to showcase Seoul's culture, tourism and daily lifestyle trends with authentic regional nuance. "The Seoul Global Culture Crew is a novel global PR program that introduces Seoul through the eyes of those living abroad," said Kim Tae-hee, director-general of

Jun 25, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul taps overseas students for grassroots global PR campaign
Trends

Seoul ranks 17th in global quality of life

Seoul placed 17th in Monocle magazine's 2026 Quality of Life Survey, the British lifestyle publication's annual ranking of the world's most livable cities, released Wednesday. Tokyo topped this year's list, followed by Copenhagen and Lisbon. Seoul was the highest-ranked city in Northeast Asia outside Japan. Monocle's survey, now in its 19th year, evaluates cities on criteria including safety, public transport, green space, governance, cultural offerings and nightlife, with the 2026 edition placing particular emphasis on civic vision and a city's ability to provide joy to its residents. The survey's assessment of Seoul highlighted the city's swift recovery from the political turmoil that followed former President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law in December 2024 — for which he was subsequently impeached and sentenced to life imprisonment — calling it a reflection of "the resilience of one of Asia's most sophisticated democracies." On the positive side, Monocle cited Seoul's outsized global cultural footprint through K-pop, K-beauty, Korean food and television, and noted that

Jun 25, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul ranks 17th in global quality of life
Travel & Food

New sanctuary reinterprets classical Korean garden on Mount Nam

Seoul is expanding its downtown green footprint with a massive new park on Mount Nam designed to bring classical Korean gardening aesthetics into the modern era. The 30,000-square-meter development, set to open to the public Saturday, utilizes contemporary engineering — including thermal-filtering glass pavilions and transparent observation decks — to reinterpret the nature-first philosophy of traditional landscape design. City officials said Wednesday that they will officially open the Korea Forest Garden, a 30,000-square-meter sanctuary, within the Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden. The site itself carries a narrative of urban reclamation: Once the site of residential housing, the land was razed and returned to nature in the 1990s, setting the stage for its latest transformation into a premier cultural park. The new layout features 11 distinct zones inspired by Damyang County’s Soswaewon and Myeongokheon — Joseon Dynasty gardens built by scholars seeking refuge from court politics. Those historic sites represent the peak of traditional Korean landscape architecture, which prize

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
New sanctuary reinterprets classical Korean garden on Mount Nam
People & Events

Seoul botanical exhibition probes balance between technology and nature

Inside the humid, glass-domed sanctuary of the Seoul Botanic Park, the boundary between the organic and the artificial has begun to blur. The municipal institution unveiled its 2026 contemporary exhibition, "A Tender Balance: Reflecting Each Other," Tuesday, a sprawling site-specific project that positions cutting-edge digital technology and anthropogenic ruins directly alongside living flora. The yearlong exhibition features major installations, media art and sculptures by four contemporary artists — Koo Ki-jeong, Um Ah-long, Lee Ji-yeon and Chang Han-na. Dispersed across four distinct zones of the botanic complex in western Seoul, the works serve as an active critique of the modern Anthropocene, challenging visitors to reconsider humanity's place within the natural order. Inside the main greenhouse, artist Chang Han-na has deployed New Rock Inuksuk, a towering installation modeled after ancient Arctic stone landmarks. However, Chang’s stones are not natural. They are "New Rocks" — petrified amalgams of industrial plastic waste and shoreline debris harvested from local ecosystem

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul botanical exhibition probes balance between technology and nature
People & Events

Busan Food Film Festa marks 10 years of culinary cinema

In the vocabulary of modern gastronomy, few pairings are as symbiotic as sight and taste. For a decade, Korea’s maritime hub has leveraged this relationship, turning the silver screen into an active dining table. On Friday, the Busan Food Film Festa will launch its 10th anniversary edition, transforming the architectural landmark Cinema Center and the banks of the Suyeong River into a three-day celebration of culinary storytelling. The three-day festival, backed by the Busan Metropolitan Government, centers on the thematic motif “Strange yet Familiar.” It is a nod to how foreign cultures and exotic cuisines organically dissolve into global comfort foods through the passage of migration, generational shifts and cinema. The festival’s opening night will feature a performance by the local youth fusion-gugak band Nallari and Jaeng_i, which blends practical pop rhythms with traditional Korean instrumentation — specifically the piercing, high-pitched horn notes of the "taepyeongso" (a traditional Korean double-reed wind instrument) and the deep, bowed bass drone of the "ajaeng" (a

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan Food Film Festa marks 10 years of culinary cinema
South Korea

Yongsan expands cooling centers for delivery workers as temperatures soar

For the thousands of delivery couriers, postal workers and gig laborers weaving through the dense, steep alleys of Seoul, the arrival of the summer season brings an increasingly perilous threat: severe heat exhaustion. With concrete heat islands accelerating urban temperatures, municipal authorities are transforming civic infrastructure into an active shield for the city's most vulnerable workers. The Yongsan District Office said Wednesday that it launched a coordinated extreme heat safety initiative centered at the Yongsan Workers Support Center. The defensive strategy combines immediate physical relief with an unprecedented expansion of operating hours for municipal cooling centers, specifically targeting "mobile workers" whose livelihoods depend on continuous outdoor exertion. The district has deployed cooling infrastructure stock-piled with 2,000 bottles of specialized spring water, subsidized through a joint campaign with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Industrial ice chests have been positioned both inside and outside the

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Yongsan expands cooling centers for delivery workers as temperatures soar
South Korea

Incheon opens driving school tailored for migrant workers

For the thousands of temporary industrial workers arriving in Korea, navigating the country's highly automated, dense highway networks can be as perilous as the heavy machinery they operate. Recognizing a growing blind spot in its rapid integration of foreign labor, municipal authorities are taking to the classroom to reinforce the rules of the road. The Incheon Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it launched an immigrant-focused driver’s education program, designed to lower accident rates and help foreign laborers integrate into local society. Run through the Incheon Migrant Workers Support Center, in tandem with the local Nonhyeon Police Department, the initiative directly addresses a rising regional anxiety: the traffic vulnerabilities of a foreign workforce operating without a firm grasp of local transit regulations. The program splits its curriculum into targeted language cohorts. A primary session on June 14 saw 116 workers from Myanmar fill the center's auditorium. A second multinational wave scheduled for Sunday will cater to laborers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Th

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Incheon opens driving school tailored for migrant workers
Companies

HD Construction Equipment launches excavator line for emerging markets

HD Construction Equipment, a Korean heavy machinery maker, unveiled a new 20-ton excavator Wednesday under its premium DEVELON brand, launching a direct bid to capture greater market share across the Middle East, Africa and other rapidly expanding emerging economies. The company held a launch event at its manufacturing plant in Pune, India, where dealers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman were shown the new model and given a live demonstration. Officials also touted the facility's production capacity and quality standards to the visiting dealers. The new excavator is designed for price-sensitive buyers in emerging markets, where 20-ton machines represent the largest segment by volume. HD Construction Equipment said it leveraged economies of scale at the Pune plant to reduce component costs while maintaining performance and durability suited to local working conditions. The Pune facility has recently expanded its annual production capacity to 9,000 units to meet rising demand from emerging markets. The plant produces both HYUNDAI and DEVELON branded equipment, an

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
HD Construction Equipment launches excavator line for emerging markets
Companies

CNN to broadcast concert in Seoul honoring Hyundai Group's founder

A memorial concert held in February for late Hyundai Motor Group founder Chung Ju-yung will be broadcast globally through CNN's "Showtime" program, Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday. The episode airs Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on CNN International, reaching viewers worldwide. The concert, held Feb. 25 at Seoul Arts Center's Concert Hall to mark the 25th anniversary of Chung's death, brought together four of Korea's most celebrated pianists — Kim Sun-wook, Sunwoo Ye-kwon, Cho Seong-Jin and Lim Yun-chan — under the theme "Resonance Continued." Chung Ju-yung, who died in 2001, founded what became one of Korea's largest industrial conglomerates, with interests spanning automobiles, shipbuilding and construction. CNN's "Showtime" is a TV series that goes behind the scenes of major global events. The episode covers not only the concert itself but also rehearsals, backstage preparation and the craftspeople who made the performance possible. The program includes footage from Steinway & Sons' factory in Queens, New York, where more than 12,000 parts are assembled over roughly a year to produce a s

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
CNN to broadcast concert in Seoul honoring Hyundai Group's founder
Music

Brazilian DJ Alok to headline Paradise City club event in Incheon

Paradise City, an integrated resort near Incheon International Airport, will host Brazilian EDM artist Alok on July 4 in the fifth installment of its recurring club event series, CHROMA KEY. The CHROMA KEY 005-MOVE AS ONE event will take place at CHROMA, Paradise City's large-scale nightclub designed to evoke the atmosphere of Ibiza and Las Vegas. The venue features a massive LED installation called the Venetian K-Sphere and a high-end sound and lighting system. Alok, a Latin Grammy-nominated DJ-producer, is ranked No. 1 in Latin America and No. 3 globally by DJ Mag, a leading electronic music trade publication. He has more than 70 million social media followers — the second-highest of any electronic music artist worldwide — along with 33 million monthly Spotify listeners and more than 5 billion cumulative global streams. Known for large-scale live performances, Alok drew approximately 2.5 million people to a New Year's Eve concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro last year, a crowd that earned a Guinness World Record. He has collaborated with artists including U.S. singer John L

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Brazilian DJ Alok to headline Paradise City club event in Incheon
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